JCK 5: Opal Essence

May 26, 2010byJennifer Heebner

Designers are rekindling their romance with the stone that the Romans considered the queen of gems for its rainbow range of hues. Opal’s “play of color,” as gemologists call it, is a pattern of iridescent shades or flashes of light that dance across the stone’s surface. It makes the fiery tones in a rare black opal stand out when set in white gold; it transforms a common, milky-white opal into a covetable treasure in rose-gold, diamond-dusted styles. Any way you slice it—cabochon cuts showcase the color best—opals are poised for a renaissance.